Creating a Form
Start a DS-160 form blank, as a copy of another form, from a Docketwise PDF or as a demo, set its details, and send the client their link in the same step.
Every DS-160 starts on the New DS-160 form page: open it with New DS-160 form on the Forms screen. You choose what the form starts from, fill in a few details and, in a business workspace, choose what happens once it exists, all in one step.
1. Start from
| Option | What you get | Uses a credit |
|---|---|---|
| A blank form | Every section empty. Fill it in yourself or send your client a link. | Yes |
| A copy of a form | Answers from a form already in this workspace, section by section. | Yes |
| Import from Docketwise | Answers read from a DS-160 printed to PDF from Docketwise. Business workspaces only. | Yes |
| A demo form | A fictional applicant with every answer filled in, for trying an e-file run. | No |
A blank form
Every section starts empty. Choose it when the answers will come from the client or from you: set the form’s details (§2), then choose what happens once it exists (§3) — in a business workspace, usually a client link so the client fills it in themselves. Creating it uses a form credit.
A copy of a form
Search for the form to copy by its name or client email; archived forms are included and marked Archived. Once you pick one, its sections are listed with how many answers each holds. Untick any section you don’t want: it starts empty on the copy. For a returning client, copy the personal details, family and work history and leave out the trip — the trip and visa details rarely carry over, so check them before you file. The original form is not changed.
Import from Docketwise
Moving cases across from Docketwise? You can start a form from the DS-160 you already have there.
Printing the PDF from Docketwise
- In Docketwise, open the client’s DS-160 smart form at its Intake step.
- Open the actions menu (the printer icon) and choose Print questions. A printable copy of every tab opens in a new browser tab.
- In that tab, print and choose Save as PDF. Use Chrome, and under More settings turn on Background graphics: without it, the answers chosen with buttons and checkboxes are left out of the PDF.
- On the New DS-160 form page, choose Import from Docketwise and drop the PDF onto the upload area, or choose it. PDFs up to 25 MB are accepted.
What you see before creating
Before anything is created, the page reads the PDF and shows you:
- Check this is the right applicant: the name, date and place of birth, nationality, passport, visa, home address, email, phone and marital status, as they will be saved.
- Answers by section: how many answers go into each section of the form.
- Check after importing: imported answers to look at, for example a long answer that Docketwise’s print cut short.
- Not imported: answers that could not be carried over, grouped by why.
| Reason | What it means |
|---|---|
| Could not be read as printed | The print doesn’t hold a usable value: a Social Security number masked as XXX-XX-1234, a date known only to the month or year, or a full name typed in one case, so its surnames can’t be told from its given names. Enter these by hand. |
| No matching DS-160 option | The answer names a choice the DS-160 doesn’t offer. |
| Question not recognised | A question the import doesn’t know yet. |
| Not asked for this application | The DS-160 asks it only for other visa types or other answers, for example a petition number on an E-2. |
| Not asked on the DS-160 | Docketwise collects it, the DS-160 doesn’t: children, a parent’s address, several security questions the State Department has dropped. |
The form name is filled in with the applicant’s name unless you’ve typed one. Answers are saved in capitals, the way the form editor saves them. Creating the form uses a form credit, like any other.
After importing
The form’s overview shows an Imported from Docketwise banner with the date and file name, Download original PDF and View import report. The report page lists the answers to check, each linked to its section, and everything that wasn’t imported. The original PDF stays with the form, and each download is recorded in the form’s history. In field history, each imported answer shows as created by whoever ran the import, marked Imported from Docketwise.
A demo form
Pick a visa type. The demo is named after its fictional applicant and uses its sample’s consulate, so there are no details to set. A workspace can hold one demo at a time; archive it to load another.
2. Form details
- Form name: usually the applicant’s name. Leave it blank and we name it for you; you can rename it later.
- Client email (business workspaces, Owners and Admins): where the client link for this form is emailed.
- Preferred consulate: optional; the consulate you’ll choose when you e-file. You can change it later.
- Assigned to (business workspaces, Owners and Admins): the member the form belongs to. Everyone else’s forms are assigned to themselves.
3. After creating it
In a business workspace, choose where the page takes you once the form exists:
- Open the form: its overview.
- Create a client link: creates a link and opens the form’s Client Links page with it, ready to copy.
- Email the client a link now: emails a link to the client email above as soon as the form is created. See emailing clients their intake link.
For the last two you also set the link’s Expires In (Days), Default Language, Hide agency branding and Allow any photo upload, prefilled from your workspace defaults.
4. Form credits
On a prepaid plan the page tells you when creating the form uses one form credit. If your workspace has none left, Create form is disabled and Manage billing takes you to your billing settings. Demo forms never use a credit.
5. Opening the page pre-filled
Your own tools can link straight to the page ready to create: ?from=<formId> picks A copy of a form with that form, ?template=<visa type> picks a demo, and name and email pre-fill the form name and client email.